PIONEERS OF TOWN Ar.

Ayaz Ahmad Khan

PLANNING Assistant Professor

SIR EBENEZER HOWARD Invertis University

INTRODUCTION
 Sir Ebenezer Howard was born as the son
of a shopkeeper in the City of London, on
29th of January 1850.
 After schooling, he took on a number of
clerical posts.
 In 1871, he emigrated to the frontier
country of America to become a farmer.
 He subsequently spent four years living in
Chicago, witnessing it’s rebuilding
following the great fire.
 It was during this time, he began to
contemplate ways to improve cities.
 VISION
• Howard was heavily influenced by the utopian visions of
Edward Bellamy and his publication Looking Backward
(1888).
• Sir Ebenezer Howard is known for his publication To-
Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform (1898) which
 ARISE OF THE PROBLEM
• It is important to understand the context to which Howard’s work was a reaction.

• London (and other cities) in the 19th century were in the throws of
industrialization, and the cities were exerting massive forces on the labour
markets of the time.

• Massive immigration from the countryside to the cities was taking place with London.

• This situation was unsustainable and political commentators of all parties sought
“how best to provide the proper antidote against the greatest danger of modern
existence” ToHoward the cure was simple - to reintegrate people with thecountryside.
 CURE OF THE PROBLEM
• In trying to understand and represent the attraction of the city he compared each
city to a magnet, with individuals represented as needles drawn to the city.
• He set about comparing the ‘town and country magnets’ but decided that neither
were suitable attractors for his utopian vision.
• Instead he believed that “Human society and the beauty of nature are meant to be
enjoyed together” – hence giving his solution “the two magnets must be made
one.”
• "Town and country must be united, and out
• of this joyous union, will spring a new hope,
• a new life, a new civilization."
 THE THREE MAGNETS

The Three Magnets Diagram (below)

makes three points:

- Town life has good and bad

characteristics

- Country life has good and bad

characteristics

- Town-Country life can have all the

good things about life in towns
and life in the country - without
 THE THREE MAGNETS

TOWN COUNTRY
POSITIVE ASPECTS NEGATIVE ASPECTS POSITIVE ASPECTS NEGATIVE ASPECTS

• Social opportunity. • Closing out of nature. • Beauty of nature. • Lack of society

• Isolation of crowds. • High rents & prices. • Land lying idle. • Hands out of work.
• Places of • Foul air and Murky • Wood, meadow, • Trespassers beware.
amusement. sky. forest.
• Chances of • Slums & gin places. • Fresh air. • Low wages.
employment.
• Low rents. • Lack of drainage.
• High money wages. • Costly drainage.
• Abundance of water. • Lack of amusement.
• Well-lit streets.
• Bright sunshine. • No public spirit.
• Need for reform.
• Crowded dwellings.
• Deserted villages.
 THE THREE MAGNETS
TOWN-COUNTRY

• combination of both aspects

• beauty of nature- peace all-over the places.
• social opportunity- cumulative growth.
• fields and parks of easy access- equal chances.
• low rents- high wages.
• low rates- plenty to do.
• low prices- no sweating.
• field for enterprise- flow of capital.
• pure air and water- good drainage.
• bright homes & gardens- no smoke, no slums.
• freedom- co-operation.
 GARDEN CITY
• Term means ‘a city in a garden ‘ or
city of gardens’.

• By Garden cities and Town Planning

Association,1919
“a garden city is a town
designed for healthy living and
industry; of a size that makes
possible a full measure of social
life; but not larger ;surrounded by
a rural belt; the whole of the land
being in public ownership or held in
in trust for community”
 GARDEN CITY
1. Garden cities were intended to be planned, self-contained communities surrounded
by "greenbelts", containing proportionate areas of residences, industry, and
agriculture.
2. The garden city introduced the use of greenbelts that have served many uses
including the preservation of agricultural and rural life, nature and heritage
conservation, recreation, pollution minimization, and growth management.
3. Garden city tradition endowed urban planning with a social and community
dimensions.
4. The garden city idea however, showed how both industrial estates and collective
retailing spaces could be used within a comprehensive planning approach to serve
public purposes.
 CORE PRINCIPLES OF
GARDEN CITY
1. Strong community

2. Ordered development

3. Environmental quality
PRINCIPLES OF GARDEN CITY

1. Co-operatve holding of land to insure that the advantage of appreciation

of land values goes to the community,not the private individuals

2. Economic and social advantages of large scale planning

3. Establishment of cities of limited size, but at the same time possessing a

balanced agricultural industrial economy..

4. Urban decentralisation

5. Use of a surrounding green belt to serve as an agricultural recreational

area.
 FEATURES OF GARDEN CITY
 Contains open spaces and gardens around all the dwelling houses and factories
 Has a population which is neither too small nor too large.
 It is a city owned by all citizens on a co-operative basis
 Its is an independent entity having its own civic life and affording all daily needs with
adequate spaces for schools and other functional purposes.
 It is a self sufficient unit having its own industries.
 It is surrounded by periphery by a
green belt.
 It need not have the rapid transit
arrangement.
 The surplus fund is utilised for the
development of the community itself.
GARDEN CITY
MOVEMENT
 CONCEPTUAL LAYOUT
• Circular city growing in a radial
manner or pattern.

• Divided into six equal wards, by six

main Boulevards that radiated from the
central park/garden.

• Civic institutions (Town Hall,

Library, Hospital, Theatre,
Museum etc. ) are placed around
the central garden.

• The central park enclosed by a

crystal palace acts as an arcade for
 CONCEPTUAL LAYOUT
• Distance between each ring vary between
3-5km .
• A 420 feet wide , 3 mile long, Grand
avenue which run in the center of
concentric rings , houses the schools and
churches and acts as a continuous public
park.
• The streets for houses are formed by a
series of concentric ringed tree lined
avenues.

• All the industries, factories and warehouses

were placed at the peripheral ring of the

FIGURATIVE DESCRIPTION
Assumed data-
• A total of 6000 acre estate
• 1000 acres, purely for the central garden city as a home for 30000 people.
• Surrounding the central city 5000 Acres of land is retained for agriculture and home
for 2000 people, with cow pastures, farmlands, and welfare services.

Central City:

• Area: 12000 acres. Population : 58000 people

• Agglomeration Cities: Area: 9000
acres Population: 32000 people
• Distance between central main city and the
agglomeration: ~10km .
GARDEN CITY EXAMPLES

The first Garden City evolved out of

Howard’s principles is Letchworth Garden
City designed by Raymond Unwin and
Barry Parker in 1903.

The second one to evolve was Welwyn

Garden City designed by Louis de
Soissons and Frederic Osborn in 1920.

Another example was Radburn City

designed by Clarence Stein and Henry
Wright in 1928.
 LETCHWORTH CITY
1. Letchworth was developed and owned by a company called First Garden City, Ltd
which was formed in 1903, based on the ideas of Howard.
2. The Garden City Association collected money from supporters, his supporters
tended to be people who were impressed by the social justice element of the Garden
City.
3. The Letchworth estate which was agricultural land, was purchased from 15
individual owners.
4. The Letchworth estate lies on a train line and is only 35 miles from London.
5. covered 3826 acres. However, more land was purchased and the property increased
to 4710 acres.
6. The Letchworth garden city was to sustain a population of between 30,000 and
35,000 people.
7. Current population is 33249 and it lies in Hertfordshire.
8. There is a central town, agricultural belt, shops, factories, residences, civic centres
and open spaces, this division of land for specific purposes is now referred to as
 LETCHWORTH CITY
Some criticisms of Letchworth exist, claims that it is too
spacious and there are few architecturally impressive designs.
However, it can be argued the space is what makes
Letchworth pleasant, and the architecture, while not highly
impressive and uniform, has consistency of colour and is
satisfying to the needs of the people.
CITY VIEW
CITY VIEW
 WELWYN CITY
• Welwyn Garden City is a town within the Borough of Welwyn in
Hertfordshire, England.

• It is located approximately 19 miles from Kings Cross and 24 miles

from London.

• On 29 April 1920 a company,

Welwyn Garden City Limited, was

formed to plan and build the

garden city, chaired by Sir

Theodore Chambers. Louis de Soissons was appointed as architect and town

WELWYN

Land of 2378 acres

• Designed for a
maximum of 40000
population

• In 15 years –
developed with
10000 population &
50 shops, industries.
WELWYN
• Streets are designed so as
to give the concept of a
Neighborhood unit.

• Separation of the pedestrian

walkways from the main
roads gives a sense of natural
beauty.
WELWYN
• Open and green spaces are
Given on a large scale.

• Personalization of Homes in
Welwyn with varying roofline,
texture and composition for
each house.
 RADBURN, NEW JERSEY
1. Also called as ‘town for motor age’.
2. Radburn was planned by architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright in 1928.
3. It is America’s first garden community, serving as a world wide example of the
harmonious blending of private space and open area.
4. Radburn provided a prototype for the new towns to meet the requirements for
contemporary good living.
5. Radburn was designed to occupy one square mile of land and house some 25,000
residents.
6. However, the Great Depression limited the development to only 149 acres.
7. Radburn created a unique alternative to the conventional suburban development
through the use of cul-de-sacs, interior parklands, and cluster housing.
8. Although Radburn is smaller than planned, it still plays a very important role in the
history of urban planning.
RADBURN, NEW JERSEY
It consists of
• Residential areas
• 149 acres of interior parks,
• Walkways.
• 2 swimming pools,
• 4 tennis courts,
• 2 playgrounds,
• Archery plaza and a school,
• 2 outdoor basketball courts
• A community center, which
houses administrative
offices, library, gymnasium,
clubroom and service and
 RADBURN, NEW JERSEY
Elements of Radburn city :

• Park as backbone of the neighborhood.

• Specialized Highway system, Complete separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic
with 21% of road areas.
• The Radburn planners achieved the separation of vehicular and pedestrian traffic
through the use of the superblocks, cul-de-sacs, and pedestrian-only pathways.
• Through the use of the superblock, houses in Radburn were uniquely designed to have
two fronts.
• The ‘back side’ of the house, what we would normally consider the front side, faced the
culs-de-sac and parking.
• The kitchen was normally placed in the back to provide visitors a place to enter the
house.
• The ‘front side’ of the house faced towards the green spaces or parks encouraging
pedestrian traffic.
Housing Blocks

Parks and greenbelt

Plaza building the shoping center

 CONCLUSION
• Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City concept shows us a place where genuine urban
activities are carried at human scale.

• The garden city introduced the use of greenbelts that have served many uses including
the preservation of agricultural and rural life, nature and heritage conservation,
recreation, pollution minimization, and growth management.

• Garden city tradition endowed urban planning with a social and community
dimensions.

• The garden city idea however, showed how both industrial estates and collective
retailing spaces could be used within a comprehensive planning approach to serve
public purposes.
THANK YOU…